Meet our delegates!
Kimberly Manky (she/her) is a writer working in both features and TV with multiple projects currently in development. She grew up in a very small town in Northern British Columbia with the highest violent crime rate in Canada (not her fault). Kimberly aims to combat stigmas around mental health and disabilities, and bring awareness and understanding to these very common human experiences. She is a Fellow of RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab (2022), an alumna of the Canadian Film Centre’s Norman Jewison Film Program Writer’s Lab (2023), and a participant of CBC’s Access pre-development program (2024). In 2024, Kimberly won “Best Pitch” at the ReelAbilities Film Festival in New York and has a mentorship with AMC Networks. She was named one of the Austin Film Festival’s Screenwriters To Watch in 2024 and featured in MovieMaker Magazine.
Landon Ramirez is a Canadian-American filmmaker of Hispanic heritage. He has directed and produced music videos for artists such as A Tribe Called Red and Brett Kissel, with work screened internationally, including at the Smithsonian. Landon has served as an assistant to filmmakers like Andrew Niccol and Viggo Mortensen, which shaped his skills as a writer and director. He currently lives in Vancouver, working as a VFX Production Coordinator while developing an original drama series through AccessCBC.
Mario Ballantyne is a Cree filmmaker living with cerebral palsy, originally from Grand Rapids, Manitoba, and now based in Winnipeg. His journey began through CBC’s Abilicrew Placements for Excellence (CAPE) internship, where he learned the inner workings of a newsroom and uncovered the haunting story of a residential school student who vanished from his home community nearly a century ago—a revelation that sparked national attention and marked his arrival as a storyteller with purpose. He later worked on the acclaimed series Little Bird as a production assistant, deepening his connection to stories that confront history and reclaim Indigenous voices. Recently accepted into Vancouver Film School’s Film Production program, Mario is working to raise funds for his March 2026 start, determined to become a producer who not only brings his own bold ideas to life but helps others tell the stories that matter. With a growing slate of concepts and a passion for truth, representation, and healing, he sees his participation in VIFF as a door-opening moment in a journey that’s only just beginning.
Matthew Kowalchuk is a filmmaker, Director, Screenwriter, and Producer who is hard of hearing, having profound hearing loss when he was a teenager; he wears hearing aids and finds himself between the hearing and the non-hearing world. He made the Telefilm-financed theatrically released feature LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN, which garnered him the Canadian Comedy Award for ‘Best Feature’, the VIFF Emerging Filmmaker Award, and numerous others. He’s also made shorts, including the NSI Drama Prize-winning THE JANITORS, BEDBUGS: A MUSICAL LOVE STORY, PENGUINS (ARE SO SENSITIVE TO MY NEEDS), and the experimental short, HEARING TEST. His current project is called THE GAIN, a sports drama inspired by his own experience of becoming hard of hearing in his high school years.
Ren (Jaiden) Kavvrin (any/all) Ren Kavvrin is a Trans-non-binary, Queer, Chronically Ill, mixed-race actor, performer, singer, and poet from BC. Ren finds meaning through creative connection and does so through engaging authentically with broad communities. Ren is currently collaborating with Amplify Radio, focusing on radio show hosting and voice acting. They will soon be entering a film acting program at Langar, where they will continue to branch out creatively. Keep an eye out for them in future queer films, TV, and theatre performances.
Robin Hahn (she/they) is a joyfully disabled actor, director, opera singer, music educator and disability advocate who has appeared on stages, panels, podcasts and screens around the world for over two decades, with credits taking her from CBC to Disneyland. As a director, her recent reimagining of Pirates of Penzance received the 2024 Ovation Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement for “bold inclusivity casting and artistic risk-taking”. She is a co-founder of Opera Mariposa, Canada’s only 100% openly disability-led and -run opera company, and is also a YouTuber and Instagram creator, making fun and educational content about the intersections between disability and the arts. She is represented by Kello Inclusive. Connect: @robinhahnsopran.
Soph Mazzocchio is a queer, chronically ill filmmaker, writer, photographer, and coordinator based on the unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ Nations. A graduate of Capilano University’s Motion Picture Arts program, they’ve worked in live-action and animation, including as Production Coordinator on Netflix and Mattel’s CG TV series Barbie Mysteries. They have also coordinated for Vancouver’s Run N Gun Film Festival and its sister fest, Shits N Giggles, since 2024, and are currently wrapping up their contract with Out On Screen for Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2025. Dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices in film, Soph is the lead producer of Babyteeth, a campy vampire short in post-production, alongside other projects in development.
Teresa Alfeld (she/her) is an award-winning writer/director from Vancouver, BC. Feature directing credits include the documentaries DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME (CBC 2022), and THE RANKIN FILE: LEGACY OF A RADICAL (Knowledge Network 2019). Recent short film directing credits include the Crazy 8s dramedy TOE PICK (Whistler Film Fest. 2024), the dramedy BOSSBABE (Cinema Spectacular 2023), the comedy DAVID FOSTER’S EGGGPAA starring David Foster and Katharine McPhee (NFB 2022), and the documentary JEAN SWANSON: WE NEED A NEW MAP (Hot Docs 2021, VIFF 2021). Teresa lives with both type 1 diabetes and MS.
Thank you to VIFF and to On Screen Manitoba for their generous support of our 2025 delegation!
